Activists Flay U.S. Support to Indian Terrorism Law

Indian experts are concerned that the United States’ recent endorsement of India as a partner in a global war against terrorism may give a fillip to the use of a controversial Indian anti-terrorism law that severely threatens human rights. The apprehensions are being voiced as the U.S. state department zeroes in on India as a country that has efficiently responded to attacks with a string of measures to fight terrorism. “Like the United States, India faces a significant terrorist threat,” says the department in its annual report — Patterns of Global Terrorism 2002 — released last month. “New Delhi continued to support the global coalition against terrorism in 2002 while engaging in its own efforts to address internal and external threats.” Among the measures the report lists is the implementation of the controversial Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA), which human rights groups have been decrying ever since it was enacted last year. “The Government of India enacted the Prevention of Terrorism Act to provide the central and state governments with additional law-enforcement tools in the war on terrorism,” the report says. Full Story

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